Nabucco Pipeline Consortium Confirms Iraq, Drops Iran

The Nabucco pipeline project has taken another step forward. At their latest Steering Committee meeting in Ankara, the shareholders agreed on a modification of the feeder line concept.

Two feeder lines were confirmed and the respective engineering works were ordered but due to the current political situation, Nabucco Gas Pipeline International is not planning a third one to the Turkish-Iranian border so far.

There will be a feeder line to the Turkish-Georgian and to the Turkish-Iraqi border. The planned route offers a wide range of supply sources for the Nabucco gas pipeline, which will receive gas from Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iraq.

Nabucco is a multi-sourcing project and will as such not rely on a single source or supplier for the operation of the pipeline. The Caspian region and the Middle East are among the world’s richest gas regions and have large potential for gas export to Europe. These regions will therefore play a crucial role both in diversification and security of supply. The investment for the pipeline is 7.9 billion Euro.

Nabucco is the new gas bridge from Asia to Europe. It will directly connect the world’s richest gas regions – the Caspian region and the Middle East, to the European consumer markets. The pipeline will link the Eastern border of Turkey, to Baumgarten in Austria – one of the most important gas hubs in Central Europe – via Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary

The Nabucco shareholders are: Bulgarian Energy Holding (Bulgaria), Botas (Turkey), MOL (Hungary), OMV (Austria), RWE (Germany) and Transgaz (Romania). Each shareholder holds an equal share of 16.67% of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH. It is the shareholders who are responsible for the negotiation of gas contracts.